Everything in Texas tends to be big, and the national parks that reside within the state are no exception. Big Bend National Park even has the word “big” in its name. With a total size of 801,163 acres, Big Bend ranks as the fourteenth largest national park in the United States and the seventh largest park in the continental United States. Not only is the size of the park big, but the vistas are large, the hikes are large, and the hearts of the people in this part of the country are large as well.

The peak season to visit the many beautiful national parks in the United States is during the summertime, but the parks can be just as beautiful and fun to visit in the wintertime. A fresh layer of snow can make the parks look entirely different and in many cases opens up new and interesting ways in which you can explore the parks.

As a travel photographer, I am always moved to journey to new places, try new things, and capture as much of my experiences in photographs as I possibly can. It was a lot of fun to look back on all of the places I have seen this year, and that exercise was all the more enjoyable because I had so many great pictures to remind me of my experiences.

This year has been one of the most memorable years of travel I have had, and the result has been some truly inspiring photographs. There was a lot to choose from (because I tend to take quite a few pictures), but I have chosen my Top 25 pictures from this year’s travels that I want to share with you.

With the holiday season fast approaching and your to-do list growing by the day, the last thing you want is added stress about how you are going to afford your holiday travel. The holiday season can be the most expensive time of the year to travel, and if you aren’t familiar with how to navigate the minefield of expenses it can be a daunting task to undertake at an already stressful time of the year.

The Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu is one of this world’s greatest hikes for explorers and adventurers. Since the world became reacquainted with Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail following its rediscovery by Hiram Bingham in 1911, adventurers, academics, and world explorers have been flocking to Peru to hike the trail each year. Machu Picchu was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983, and then declared one of the world’s New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. This has only increased the popularity of Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. This has led to an increase in the number of visitors to the area from in the low 100,000’s in the 1980s to over 1.2 million visitors a year today.

The holiday season is upon us and many of you are likely making plans to visit loved ones both near and far. However, as nice as it is to get away and see loved ones during the holidays, the holiday travel season can be extremely busy and can make traveling during this time extremely stressful. If you aren’t careful, it can quickly ruin your holidays and leave you wishing you would have just stayed home.

One of the biggest joys of travel is being able to learn about other cultures. Thru our travels, we get to see how other people live, what customs they have, what foods they typically eat, where they live, and how they celebrate life. I like to say you can learn a lot about the culture of a place by walking thru its markets and by observing its festivals or celebrations. There are some great world heritage festivals around the globe and some of this world’s best festivals are huge attractions for tourists.

If you have a travel enthusiast on your shopping list, I have put together some unique and creative ideas of some gifts that you can surprise them with this holiday season. These are gifts that they can use as they trek around the globe, get some inspiration for their next big adventure, or use to keep the memories of their recent travels fresh in their memory. If you know someone who loves to travel, these gifts should put a big smile on their face this holiday season!

We have all heard the terms before. Wanderlust, the travel bug, nomads, vagabonds, wayfarers, drifters, and globetrotters. All of these terms are used to describe, to a varying extent, people who suffer from one thing in particular, and that is an addiction to traveling. Once the travel bug bites you, it is a very hard thing to let go. The excitement that one can get from traveling to new places and experiencing and learning new things can give you a rush and fulfillment that leaves you craving for more-and-more.

Machu Picchu is both an architectural marvel and a stunning piece of artwork wrapped up into one iconic travel destination. Considered one of the new wonders of the world, Machu Picchu is one of South America’s, if not the world’s, most recognizable places. Because of its beauty, tourists flock to Machu Picchu each year to get a glimpse of it first hand and to try and capture its essence in photographs. However, capturing this beautiful place in photographs is not without its challenges.